Lever mechanisms for manipulating control cables are commonly employed in motorcycles and like vehicles to permit operator control of the vehicle's brakes and clutch mechanism. A typical lever and cable combination, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,922, includes a handlebar mounted support bracket having one end of an elongate lever pivotally fastened thereto and a barrel portion through which a cable is trained to maintain shifting movement of the cable in a direction generally aligned with the longitudinal axis of the lever. The cable normally has a keeper element secured to the end thereof which is releasably received within a recessed portion in the lever adjacent the pivoting end of the latter. Thus, the end of the cable is fastened to the pivoting end of the lever and in some cases, the pivot point of the lever may be slightly longitudinally spaced toward the free end of the lever and away from the location of cable attachment. In the type of lever and cable attachment designs described above, manipulation of the lever by the vehicle operator results in substantial tension forces as a result of the bending load being applied to the length of the lever member; consequently, the lever must be constructed in the manner to withstand these substantial tension forces, thereby limiting the classes of material and structural designs which may be employed in connection with the fabrication of the lever.